my home office is in the same room as my cats litter box. so we all work really hard in this room. and while i thought i had retired using nag champa in high school, g brought it back to mask the scent of lingering cat poop and it really does work. we’ve been using an old tea tin for years, so i decided to make a simple little holder for our incense sticks – and hey, you can too!

01. soften up the clay in your hands, roll a piece into a ball and roll it out flat.

02. use your blade to cut each side to form a triangle. using your incense stick, prick a hole in the center and wiggle it around just a little to give enough space for your incense. bake until hardened, let cool.

03. paint! i watered my acrylic paint to give it a watercolor look. if you mess up, you can use nail polish remover to fix your mistakes, although i’ve read it’s bad for the clay. also, don’t spill even a drop on your phone screen like i did. because it IS BAD i learned the hard way.

04. let dry! light incense! party!

+ if you’re wondering how messy this is versus using a “catch-all” for the incense ash, well my answer is that we are very frugal people and we’re also very sensitive to smells, so we only use a little of an incense stick at a time. ash may drop. but yolo.

lately i am obsessed with all things ceramic and enamelware, but i really don’t have any money to spend on this love of mine. so while i wanted to incorporate that look onto my pretty new-ish coffee table, duh i decided to DIY it.

01. spray paint your candles upside down and let dry outside for at least 5 hours.

02. once your candles are dry and you peel them off the work surface, you’ll notice the top rim probably needs a little finesse. i lightly sanded my down and carefully painted with the white acrylic paint.

03. if you have a reference to use (like my enamelware camping mug), all the better. if you don’t, use mine or an image on google. the trick is to go VERY slowly and not to over think it. my first candle was pretty bad because i was completely over thinking it. so here’s my trick : relax and do a little at a time. so do tiny dots and spread them all over, don’t do one area at a time. then add medium sized dots. then add blotches to make it a little more natural rather than large dots, which end up looking kind of intentional. if it helps, do a little on one side, then turn it and do a little on the other side of the candle, then go back and forth. as long as you go at a slow relaxed pace, it won’t look too deliberate.

+ if you’re wondering if flammable spray paint and candles shouldn’t mix, it seems to be ok because the spray paint is only on the outside of the glass which doesn’t touch the flame whatsoever. but if my candles spontaneously combust, i’ll be sure to let you know.

you might be asking yourself why i didn’t use white wax candles, and that’s because i usually hate the scent of inexpensive white candles. like no thanks, i don’t want a baby powder or vanilla buttercream scent in my house. but maybe i’m just picky.

but i’m really loving the way these candles bring a little pattern to my coffee table – let me know if you try it!